[sysfailur]

Originally Posted by DiRTyDeLuX

8 years. Did the Longbow transition in '04.

Have you had a chance to use any of those Novembers in theatre?

[DiRTyDeLuX]

Originally Posted by sysfailur

Have you had a chance to use any of those Novembers in theatre?

FUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuckkkkk yes!!! Used them on some caches... lots of secondaries!!!

Used some mikes on some crunchies too... ground guys said they could barely make out any parts!! Should we be talking about this here?

[sysfailur]

Probably not. Will move to PM.

[Alexander]

How did I miss this thread?

Join the Coast Guard.



I did 4 years active as an Infantryman. Got out and I'm now blasting through college IOT comission into the Marine Corps as a Infantry Officer (hopefully).

[doc1911]

Having spent almost 12 years in the service so far I would look very carefully at what you want out of the military. If you are going to use to springboard to something else like LE I would look at the Army or AF. With the Army you can sign a contract for a specific MOS...like Military Police. It might have changed but the Marines don't do that.

I have also worked with every service very closely. I've been in combat with everyone and the Marines are no better, in fact sometimes worse, that the 82nd, 101st, 10th Mnt in the Army. The Army gets a bad wrap b/c there are some many support people that the infantryman gets lost. I'm trying to be nice but the Marines are not all they are cracked up to be.

I will say the Marine marksmanship program is better than the Army's but for the most part that all evens out in a couple years. The average Marine isn't any better with a M16 than the average infantyman in the 82nd after 5 year.
If you think you are going to the Maries and getting jump out of planes and do a bunch a really cool stuff, think again. That is for the most part BS. It could happen but your chances are very slim.

Don't get fooled by the dress blues, that is the nicest thing the Marines have going for them. They have inferior equipment, an overblown sence of importance and are far more impressive in the movies

[Ignignokt]

Originally Posted by doc1911

With the Army you can sign a contract for a specific MOS...like Military Police. It might have changed but the Marines don't do that.

When I was in, there were only certain MOS's where it was up in the air even after signing your contract (I think Crash Fire Rescue was one). Pretty sure all the MP's I worked with were there on purpose. There are a lot of specific MOS's you have to hope you luck out on (ex: specific avionics MOS), but I don't think 5811 is one of those.

Originally Posted by doc1911

I will say the Marine marksmanship program is better than the Army's but for the most part that all evens out in a couple years. The average Marine isn't any better with a M16 than the average infantyman in the 82nd after 5 year.

There's something to be said about the comparison of the "average Marine"'s shooting abilities compared to an "average infantryman" in the Army. I don't know if you intended for your comparison to be that way, but it's flattering that you'd compare our pogues to your grunts in that regard. That being said, your performance on the range has only a little to do with how well you perform when the shit hits the fan.

Originally Posted by doc1911

Don't get fooled by the dress blues, that is the nicest thing the Marines have going for them. They have inferior equipment, an overblown sence of importance and are far more impressive in the movies

We do have inferior equipment. We make do with rotary wing airframes which haven't rolled off an assembly line since Vietnam, we get hand-me-down tech, and we do feast off the crumbs of the Navy's budget. But it's what we do, and we do it well.

Your statement about "overblown sense of importance" doesn't really do great things for validating your POV. That just sounds like bitterness. I'm sure the OP is looking for advice that isn't jaded like that.

[oct1285]

Originally Posted by Ignignokt

That just sounds like bitterness. I'm sure the OP is looking for advice that isn't jaded like that.

are we reading the same thread? The first two pages seems to fit the bill to me. And I always love these "hey look at me, i'm going to join the military" threads.

[doc1911]

Originally Posted by Ignignokt

Your statement about "overblown sense of importance" doesn't really do great things for validating your POV. That just sounds like bitterness. I'm sure the OP is looking for advice that isn't jaded like that.

There is no bitterness, just my POV after almost 4 years in combat over the last 9 years, in both OEF and OIF and knee deep in the shit with everyone at one point........for instance, I was in the Battle of Fallujah with the Marines.

Talk about a jaded POV, read the first few post. They sound like a recruiting ad. At least I admitted the Army and AF were not all kick-ass. That is exactly the type of cult-like brain washing so many Marines buy into and then doesn't give the reality to people looking at their options.

[CarForHire]

I feel like the kid is joining for the wrong reasons, but I'm sure his views will change. As for Army vs Marines, everyone will always stand up for their own. IMHO RLTW
If you want to be in a Federal Agency, go to school and join ROTC. Serve as a "butter bar" and then go from there.

[e92justin]

Originally Posted by CarForHire

I feel like the kid is joining for the wrong reasons, but I'm sure his views will change. As for Army vs Marines, everyone will always stand up for their own. IMHO RLTW
If you want to be in a Federal Agency, go to school and join ROTC. Serve as a "butter bar" and then go from there.

Im joining because i want to serve my country and gain military experience. Because having that along with a college degree which i plan to do afterwards will (at least i hope so) get me closer to becoming a police officer. But at the same time i still want to do what i wanna do (jumping out of planes, kickin doors open, and all that other shit that goes along with it)

Originally Posted by oct1285

are we reading the same thread? The first two pages seems to fit the bill to me. And I always love these "hey look at me, i'm going to join the military" threads.

I was simply asking for suggestions since this is a forum and is the off topic section. Thats what these were made for am i right? wtf do i have to brag about im not even in the service. Go find something better to do than talking shit.

[Ignignokt]

Originally Posted by e92justin

Im joining because i want to serve my country and gain military experience. Because having that along with a college degree which i plan to do afterwards will (at least i hope so) get me closer to becoming a police officer. But at the same time i still want to do what i wanna do (jumping out of planes, kickin doors open, and all that other shit that goes along with it).

You need to talk to a grunt about what it's really like. It's not a glorious action movie. It doesn't sound like you're going to be in for very long, so the chances of you even getting a shot at jump school are almost nil. Maybe if you went FR and stayed in a bit, but.... Being a grunt isn't some fast-paced badass lifestyle. You're going to sit around a lot, hump (as in hike) a shitload, and learn to clean your weapon until your fingers bleed.

Your best setup for going LEO after getting out would be to enlist into 5811 (MP). However, I did a stint at the Provost Marshall's Office (basically the MP unit), and I can't tell you of any MOS in the entire Marine Corps that I knew people to hate so much (but I didn't have a ton of experience with every MOS, so it's possible there are worse out there).... The only ones who liked it were the ones who had the jack-off power tripping attitudes. Everyone else despised the job.

Also, a point that a lot of people don't always consider: As a grunt, you're going to end up being stationed at Sausage Factory Central. Pendleton isn't so bad, but LeJeune and Oki are absolutely terrible places to be stationed IMO, unless you love being around other Marines when you're trying to get away from them. Overall, even pogue units don't have great choices (Miramar is great though), but as a grunt you've got a very good chance of hating where you live.

[oct1285]

Originally Posted by e92justin

I was simply asking for suggestions since this is a forum and is the off topic section. Thats what these were made for am i right? wtf do i have to brag about im not even in the service. Go find something better to do than talking shit.

Don't worry about what I'm doing. Worry about what you're trying to do. kicking down doors,clearing rooms and doing static line drops is all fun and shit but has little to nothing to do with doing civilian police work. My cousin who was an MP in the army and currently a cop says what he did in the army had no relation to what he does now. And I don't know what police force you're trying to join but all the departments I researched when I thought about joining after the military doesn't require a college degree. If I were you I'd go to college, go to rotc, get that super private rank and then do whatever it is you think you want to do.

[addy85]

Originally Posted by CollinsE90

i remember being 17, do you know what a police officer makes a year?

Do research before you make a career choice

You should take your own advice and do some research before you post.

[Schm]

I personally think he should join the circus. Lots of great life experiences.

[Comet]

nah bra
he's gonna open a can of whoop ass and go ahnold on them and break down doors and jumping out of planes and killing terrorists lol

if all you want to do is jump out of planes and shoot a gun, why don't you take up sky diving and the gun range as hobbies? at least you don't have to clean bathrooms...

[Seminole]

Originally Posted by lambtron

I hate to break it to you kid, but unless you're actually deployed in a combat zone you're basically going to be sitting on your ass, doing a whole lot of nothing. Yeah there is the training and going to the field, but the rest of the time you sit around the barracks cleaning shit and doing the bitch work of all the guys who have seniority over you.

+1

I didn't serve, but I have friends who went into the Marines as grunts after HS and all they did (if not deployed) was sit around and clean their guns over and over, go on marches, etc.